Lengthy mango tin and Virgin Mary statue murder case ends in jail

The glove found by police at the scene of the murder of Elia Abdelmessih.Source:News Limited

Lonely Melbourne widower Elia Abdelmessih was 69 when he was found bludgeoned to death, a tin of mangoes and a statue of the Virgin Mary near his body.

The identity of his killer remained a mystery for 13 years.

But the reason why “unsophisticated and unworldly” McDonald’s worker Katia Pyliotis, 23, killed her customer at his own home in a “frenzied attack” has never been revealed.

Today, Pyliotis — now 37 — was jailed for 19 years.

Katia Pyliotis (left) arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Picture: James RossSource:AAP

Mr Abdelmessih was newly widowed when he started dining at Kew McDonald’s, sometimes several times a day, serenading the staff and showing “over-friendly” behaviour.

But on September 18, 2005, Pyliotis visited Mr Abdelmessih’s house and bludgeoned him to death before leaving his face submerged in a bowl of bloodied liquid.

Bloodstained items were found throughout the house including a broken statue, a dented tin of mangoes and tracksuit pants near the body, as well as bloodstained towels, toilet paper, a broken wine bottle and cellophane on a bunch of flowers in the laundry trough.

Mr Abdelmessih, whose scalp was partially separated from his skull, died from a head injury.

“The crime scene was complex because Mr Abdelmessih’s house was kept in a chaotic state,” Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Paul Coghlan said during sentencing.

“I am prepared to conclude that although there was a frenzied attack on Mr Abdelmessih ... the attack was not premeditated and it was likely to have been triggered by some event, the nature of which cannot be established.”